This blog started when I owned and MZ Skorpion Traveller and a bike magazine dismissed it with the phrase 'you can't tour on a single'. The Skorpion's gone and I now have a Triumph Bonneville, but I can't be bothered changing the title of the blog!
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Friday, 13 July 2012

Friday bike

Today's is a very rare bike, and one that I've been unable to find much information on.
When I visited the Château de
Savigny-les-Beaune during my tip to France in May, I saw a couple of 'Tigre' motorcycles in their museum. I think there were two solos (one racing) and a sidecar.

When I got back I did a bit of 'digging' around the Web, but turned up very little information. The engine was built by French company Panhard, at one time a car manufacturer but now build military vehicles. It's a 851cc flat twin of 'about 50 bhp' that was used in their 'PL17' car built in the 60s.
A blog I found gives a small amount of information plus some photos:

Note very early looking brake calipers - possibly from a car?

Doesn't look so smart here! Very car like dials.

There was also one in the museum in Reims that I visited later on that trip, but I've no idea how many more were built.
Here's an extra treat for you. When I was looking for details of this bike, I found an example of the car that donated the engine, the Panhard PL17 on French Ebay.

How cool is that? Compare that to the cars we could get in Britain in 1961 - it looks like a spaceship in comparison! If I was a millionaire I'd definitely have one of these in my collection.